I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 393 Must die

"Your Highness, I know there is a rift between you and Qi Mu. If there is a chance to get rid of him, you would be happy to see it happen, right?"

It turned out that he was preparing to attack Qi Mu. Zhao Wei suddenly realized it, but shook his head and said, "Prime Minister Xiao, you are joking. I don't have any deep hatred with Qi Zhongcheng. It doesn't matter to me whether he exists or not."

Xiao Qinyan frowned and asked again: "If I want to cooperate with you to get rid of Qi Mu's party, Your Highness, are you willing?"

Zhao Wei tapped the table with his fingers and said slowly, "Prime Minister Xiao, do you know how many people are in Qi Mu's party? If Qi Mu and his party are eliminated, how much impact will it have on the court? How will the emperor view me? Besides, as I just said, whether Qi Mu exists or not makes no difference to me, but it is different for the prime minister. I don't like to do thankless things."

"Your Highness seems to have forgotten that I belong to the Queen."

Hearing this, Zhao Wei couldn't help but laugh: "Prime Minister Xiao, this is just to deceive others, but you guys claim to be the queen mother's people, but in fact you are not doing it for your own benefit."

Xiao Qinyan did not refute. He said that he was Liu Wan's man. It was a test to test Zhao Wei's attitude towards him. Now it seems that the situation is similar to what he expected.

Zhao Wei had no good feelings towards him or even the entire Hou Party.

Once Zhao Wei comes to power, he is very likely to take action against them.

However, now is not the time to fall out with Zhao Wei. Just as Zhao Wei said, Qi Mu is the biggest threat to him.

In contrast, Zhao Wei's subordinates were a group of crude warriors who could not cause much trouble in the court.

Noticing that Zhao Wei emphasized the word "benefits", Xiao Qinyan understood what Zhao Wei meant. He simply felt that there was no benefit and did not want to help, but he was prepared.

"Your Highness, as far as I know, Qi Mu is in collusion with the Palace Front Department. The Palace Front Department's Du Yuhou is Qi Mu's man. Even the Palace Front Department's Commander Guo has a close relationship with Qi Mu."

The Dianqian Division, one of the divisions of the Imperial Guards, was collectively known as the Two Divisions together with the Imperial Guards Division. Its subordinate agencies, the Dianqian Commandery, and the Imperial Guards Cavalry Commandery and the Imperial Guards Infantry Commandery, which were subordinate to the Imperial Guards Division, were collectively known as the Three Yamen. The two divisions and three yamen system was the highest command organization of the Imperial Guards in the Song Dynasty. It can be said that the Dianqian Division was responsible for half of the defense of the imperial palace and its importance is needless to say.

Zhao Wei knew that there were Qi Mu's people in the Palace Front Department, because in the TV series, the commander of the Palace Front Department who had an intersection with Gu Qianfan was Qi Mu's man, and later the assassins who assassinated Xiao Qinyan on the ship were also people from the Palace Front Department.

But what he didn't expect was that Guo Qiming, who was in charge of the entire Palace Front Department, was related to Qi Mu. This made the matter serious.

However, it is also possible that Xiao Qinyan deliberately exaggerated in order to join forces with him to overthrow Qi Mu.

Zhao Wei frowned and said, "Qi Mu himself is only a chancellor, and Guo Qiming is a second-rank military officer, higher than Qi Mu's rank. Could he be Qi Mu's man?"

"That's why I said they might be colluding. Commander Guo is certainly not Qi Mu's man. Qi Mu is not qualified enough. But as far as I know, Commander Guo admires Lord Ke very much and has been trying to get closer to Qingliu. Now that Lord Ke is not in the court, Qingliu only follows Qi Mu's lead. There is no guarantee that there is something going on between them. Don't you think so?"

Zhao Wei was relieved upon hearing this and chuckled, "According to what Prime Minister Xiao said, I am still Mr. Ke's disciple. Does that mean I am also secretly colluding with Qi Zhongcheng?"

"Hahaha……"

Xiao Qinyan laughed loudly: "Your Highness, you are joking. Although you are Mr. Ke's student, you are the Queen's child. I think Your Highness knows better than me what Qingliu's attitude towards the Queen is. You are destined not to be in the same boat with Qingliu."

But Zhao Wei shook his head and said, "For the position of the Eastern Palace, it is not impossible for me to unite with the Qingliu. I believe that my mother can understand."

"That's true, but the Qingliu people don't want to see Your Highness ascend to the throne, otherwise the emperor wouldn't have delayed so long in appointing you as the crown prince. Although I'm not in Tokyo, I know that the emperor has tried to appoint Your Highness as the crown prince many times in the past two years, but they were all disrupted by the Qingliu group."

"What about Prime Minister Xiao?" Zhao Wei asked with a smile, "Does Prime Minister Xiao support me?"

"I, as an old minister, naturally support Your Highness."

Zhao Wei smiled faintly and did not comment. After being silent for a long time, he suddenly said something.

"Deputy Commander of the Palace Front Department."

"What?" Xiao Qinyan asked in surprise.

Zhao Wei smiled faintly and said, "Prime Minister Xiao should understand what I mean. I can cooperate with him, but I want the position of Deputy Commander of the Palace Front Department."

If Qi Mu could really be overthrown, the place that would benefit the most would be the Palace Front Division. Zhao Wei asked for the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Front Division, which meant he took the lion's share, leaving only a few leftovers.

Xiao Qinyan looked at Zhao Wei deeply, with a bit of displeasure in his tone: "Your Highness is really bold, why don't you just say the commander-in-chief of the Palace Front Department?"

"From what Prime Minister Xiao said, can you let me take the position of the commander-in-chief?"

"Your Highness, you are so bold."

Xiao Qinyan suppressed his unhappiness, feeling quite amused and helpless. The commander-in-chief of the Palace Front Division could be said to be the pinnacle of military officers, with a high position and power, and his status was no lower than his. He had just returned to Beijing to take up his post, so how could he not have that ability.

"So, that's why I was talking about the deputy commander-in-chief."

Zhao Wei said it as a matter of course. The commander had never even thought about it because it was simply impossible, even if he and Xiao Qinyan joined forces.

If... he meant if, Xiao Qinyan dared to say today that he would take the position of the commander-in-chief, the Xiao family would be able to gather in the prison tomorrow.

Xiao Qinyan fell into deep thought. Zhao Wei was a prince and had a large army under his command. If Zhao Wei were to get the position of deputy commander-in-chief of the Palace Front Department, he would be unstoppable in his pursuit of power in the future.

So, Xiao Qinyan sighed and said, "Your Highness, it's not that I don't want to agree to your conditions, it's just that this position is too high and I am powerless. However, I can promise Your Highness at least a fourth-rank military officer, and I will report to Your Majesty to appoint a crown prince in exchange for Your Highness' support."

"Submitting a memorial to appoint a crown prince?" Zhao Wei was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "I see. I was wondering why my mother asked me to come and congratulate Prime Minister Xiao on his birthday. It seems that Prime Minister Xiao and my mother have already discussed this."

"Your Highness is very smart. As expected, nothing can be hidden from Your Highness."

Zhao Wei laughed and asked, "What does Xiao Xiang want?"

"I only ask Your Highness to take care of Qianfan. As far as I know, he is highly valued by the emperor. Although he cannot be compared with Your Highness, he still has a bright future."

Zhao Wei naturally understood what he meant and said with a smile: "Want to let Gu Qianfan take another step forward?"

Xiao Qinyan just smiled, poured a glass of wine for Zhao Wei, and said nothing.

Why does he want to ease his relationship with Gu Qianfan?

The reason is naturally that Gu Qianfan is capable, and Gu Qianfan is in the Imperial City Bureau, and he needs the help of the Imperial City Bureau.

Although Lei Jing can be intimidated, it is just intimidation. He cannot necessarily make Lei Jing help. Moreover, Lei Jing is an outsider after all. He cannot be as reliable as his own son.

Of course, the more important thing is that Lei Jing is a two-faced person and is not trustworthy at all. He might even stab him in the back at a critical moment. There are examples of this. Several ministers in the court lost their families because of Lei Jing's stabbing in the back.

Unfortunately, Xiao Qinyan did not notice that the vacant positions were replaced by Zhao Wei's people, otherwise he would have known that Lei Jing had been Zhao Wei's man for a long time.

Zhao Wei pretended to be thoughtful and remained silent for a moment, then said, "It's not impossible for him to get the position of the commander of the Imperial City Department, but Gu Qianfan must show some new merits. If he can do so, the position of the commander of the Imperial City Department will be his."

"I, your Highness, would like to thank you for this."

Xiao Qinyan raised his glass to toast, and after they drank it all, Zhao Wei stopped smiling and said calmly, "Prime Minister Xiao, you have finished your business. I still have something to discuss with you."

"Old minister, I am all ears."

Zhao Wei raised his voice and shouted, "Shuangxi." Shuangxi, who was guarding outside the door, heard the shouting, pushed the door open and walked in. He didn't say anything, but took out a stack of papers and placed them in front of Xiao Qinyan.

"The above are all the crimes of Mr. Xiao, the Second Master of your family, and the evidence is irrefutable. So I came here today not only to congratulate Prime Minister Xiao on his birthday, but also to arrest him."

Xiao Qinyan was silent for a moment: "Your Highness, this old minister has already punished..."

Zhao Wei shook his head and interrupted, "The moment he attacked my princess, he was destined to die."

Of course he knew that Xiao Qinyan had beaten Xiao Rui so badly that he couldn't get out of bed for half a month, and even destroyed Xiao Rui's reproductive ability, but so what?
"Prime Minister Xiao, a man cannot stand firm unless he is ruthless. You have many sons, so one less will not be a big deal, not to mention that he is a waste, don't you think? If Prime Minister Xiao protects him today, it is inevitable that he will get into trouble in the future and affect the entire Xiao family."

Threat!

This is a naked threat.

Although Xiao Qinyan was angry, he had no choice.

"Prime Minister Xiao, I have given you face by not coming here with a big fanfare to arrest him." Zhao Wei said calmly, and then narrowed his eyes: "Prime Minister Xiao, the person I want to kill, let alone you, even if my father has issued an order to protect him, Xiao Rui must die!"

Xiao Qinyan was very angry, but he had to admit that Zhao Wei was indeed very considerate of him.

Because once Zhao Wei reported these crimes to the emperor, the officials in the court who disliked him would never miss the opportunity to take advantage of his misfortune.

The mere fact that he was a poor parent was enough to shake his position before he even had time to warm up.

Once he loses his position, he will definitely be abandoned by Liu Wan, and the entire Xiao family may face the disaster of genocide.

So, Xiao Qinyan hesitated for a moment and made a decision.

"Your Highness, can you please give me some respect?"

Zhao Wei was silent for a moment and nodded.

He planned to use Xiao Qinyan to integrate the peace faction in the court. However, Xiao Qinyan had just arrived in Beijing at this time. If his prestige was hit by the Xiao Rui incident, he might not be able to stand firm, let alone integrate the peace faction in the court.

"Thank you, Your Highness. My son will die of illness in seven days at most."

"Well, please accept my condolences, Prime Minister Xiao." Zhao Wei looked very sad. He stood up and called Shuangxi, saying, "Shuangxi, go call Song Yinzhang. Let's go."

In the side hall, as soon as Zhao Wei and Shuangxi left, Xiao Qinyan's face suddenly became gloomy.

The housekeeper Zhongshu came in and slowly walked to his side: "Prime Minister, you and His Royal Highness the King of Han..."

Xiao Qinyan's eyes were about to spit fire, and he snorted coldly: "He is more difficult to deal with than I thought, even more difficult than that old fellow Ke Zheng. If I had not been forced to do so now, I would not have been bullied by him to this extent."

Today's confrontation with Zhao Wei made him feel very uncomfortable. He was thirty years older than Zhao Wei, but he did not gain any advantage from Zhao Wei. Instead, Zhao Wei took the initiative.

"Prime Minister, do we have to find King Han?"

"What else? You have seen the intelligence I have collected recently. He has been very popular recently and has a say in the noble circle. More importantly, he now has military power. Without his support, I cannot hold this position securely."

Xiao Qinyan rubbed his head. Although he returned to the capital, he had not yet established a firm foothold. Qi Mu and a group of people secretly wanted to bring him down.

Although he is not afraid, he has to be on guard, so he urgently needs allies and strong supporters.

The reason why he approached Zhao Wei was because he valued Zhao Wei's power and status, and also because of Liu Wan's relationship. After all, he was the leader of the Hou Party. Without Zhao Wei's support, Liu Wan would abandon him without hesitation.

But he didn't expect that Zhao Wei would use his power to suppress him, especially in the end, Zhao Wei actually forced him to kill his son, which made him extremely angry.

Being forced to kill his own son to show loyalty was something Xiao Qinyan could not accept, even though Zhao Wei was a prince. If Xiao Qinyan had not been shrewd enough, the talks would probably have broken down just now.

"Just because you are in power for a while doesn't mean you will have the last laugh. The emperor has more than one son." Xiao Qinyan looked at him with hatred, "Sooner or later, I will avenge my son's death."

He hated Zhao Wei for being too bullying, and also hated Xiao Rui for causing him trouble.

"Ah?" Uncle Zhong was startled and asked in confusion, "Revenge for the murder of my son?"

"It's Rui'er."

Xiao Qinyan had a face full of grief. After all, no matter what, Xiao Rui was his biological son. For an old man, the greatest sorrow in life was probably to see a loved one die.

"Your Highness the King of Han wants the Second Young Master to die?" Uncle Zhong was shocked, and then cautiously asked, "Prime Minister, do you mean that we should secretly..."

Xiao Qinyan glanced over and Uncle Zhong was forced to hold back any subsequent words.

"What do you think is the chance of us being able to deceive him? Once he finds out that we deceived him, do you want me and my entire Xiao Mansion to be buried with him? He is clearly trying to use my Xiao Mansion to establish his authority over that woman of low birth!" Xiao Qinyan said hatefully, "Go check on that woman named Zhao Pan'er. She won't have an easy life with my son dead. Sooner or later, I will make her be buried with me."

Zhao Wei forced him to kill his son. Although he couldn't do anything to Zhao Wei at the moment, it didn't mean that he couldn't make things difficult for Zhao Wei.

"Yes, Your Excellency." Uncle Zhong bowed and said, "Your Excellency, should we ..."

He didn't say anything else, but he made a gesture of wiping his neck.

"If you ask such stupid questions again next time, you don't have to follow me." Xiao Qinyan said coldly.

Not to mention that Zhao Wei was willing to force Zhao Pan'er to kill his son for her, which shows how much Zhao Wei cared about Zhao Pan'er. God knows how many guards Zhao Wei sent to protect Zhao Pan'er.

Just saying that Zhao Heng has already issued an edict to grant the marriage, no one dares to touch Zhao Pan'er now. After all, if Zhao Pan'er dies, it would be a slap in the face of Zhao Heng, the Zhao royal family, and even the entire Song Dynasty.

No one can afford the consequences it will cause.

Uncle Zhong's face turned pale instantly, and he bowed his head and said, "I am the old servant who made a mistake. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Xiao Qinyan waved his hand, and suddenly his face turned fierce: "You go to Wu's house in person tonight and tell Wu Jin that I want to talk to him."

"what?"

Uncle Zhong was startled and said cautiously, "Prime Minister, Wu Jin is now one of the leaders of Qingliu. He wants to get rid of us as soon as possible. He shouldn't form an alliance with us, right?"

"Qingliu?"

Xiao Qinyan sneered: "It's just for their own benefit. There is no such thing as an innocent and loyal person in the world. He will agree to my words. They also know very well that Zhao Wei cannot take the throne. Otherwise, why do you think they repeatedly prevented the government from enthroning Zhao Wei as the crown prince?"

"It's the Prime Minister."

Xiao Qinyan nodded: "Go down, make Rui'er some of his favorite food in the next few days."

(End of this chapter)